The state became "the laughingstock of the nation" because of the perception that Lori Hacking's killer - husband Mark Hacking - might serve as little as five years in prison, according to Eraldo Soares, the father of the murder victim.

But a proposed amendment to the state's homicide statute - which was passed unanimously from the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday - would raise the minimum penalty for murder to 15 years.

Currently, the penalty for first-degree felony murder is five years to life, a so-called indeterminate sentence that leaves the ultimate fate of an inmate in the hands of a five-member parole board, which is generally tough on killers.

Although the board usually makes killers spend more than 15 years behind bars, many people do not understand that, and the families of murder victims are often traumatized when a judge hands down a sentence that suggests the killer could be out in five years, said the bill's sponsor, Lorie Fowlke, R-Orem.

Added Paul Boyden, executive director of the Statewide Association of Prosecutors: "Our system is effective, and we need to have people understand that it is effective."

Boyden said House Bill 102 would help eliminate the suffering of victims and restore public confidence in the criminal justice system by raising the penalty for murder to 15 years to life.

"It's a tweak that needs to be made," he said.

Fowlke's bill also would require the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole to consider it an aggravating factor if a murder is committed by a person in a "position of trust," such as a spouse, parent or cohabitant.

The same aggravating factor would have to be considered by judges overseeing second-degree felony manslaughter cases, where they have the discretion of imposing probation rather than prison.

The bill has wide support from prosecutors and other criminal justice system workers, including groups that work with domestic violence victims. It is expected to pass the House and Senate easily.

Stewart Ralphs, director of Legal Aid Society, told the committee he identified 33 of Utah's homicides last year as domestic-violence related.

In the early hours of July 19, 2004, Hacking shot his sleeping 27-year-old wife in the head as she slept. He dumped her body and other evidence into garbage bins, then called police to say she failed to return from a jog in Memory Grove.

The slaying occurred as the couple were preparing to relocate to North Carolina, where Hacking claimed he had been accepted at a medical school.

But police quickly discovered Hacking had been living a lie for years. He had not graduated from the University of Utah, and he had not been accepted at the school in North Carolina.

Hacking later confessed to his brothers, Scott and Lance Hacking, that he killed Lori after she discovered his lies.

Hacking pleaded guilty to murder last April and was sentenced to five years to life, plus an additional year for using a firearm in the crime.

The parole board last year decided Hacking, who is 29, will stay in prison at least until August 2034 before he is considered for parole.

Soares said increasing the minimum penalty for murder would "send a message to all would-be murderers to think twice before they kill their spouse."

He said that although his daughter and Hacking must have had "a huge argument" the night she was killed, "still, she went to bed, trusting her husband."

Soares - who lives in California - later told news reporters he had dedicated the past year to changing the law "so your daughters will be safe."

He added that Hacking should stay in prison for life because he "hasn't shown any regret."

"My daughter won't be coming back," Soares said. "He doesn't have a right to come out."

In an unrelated provision, the bill would make it a first-degree felony to kill someone by firing a gun from a vehicle, even if the death was not intentional.